Hey All, Like i said earlier, i got my truck. Well, i was curious about its towing ability, and whether or not it was set up for surge brakes. Well, took it to U-Haul and they checked it out, its all set up for surge brakes, so i just had to take the ole girl and hook onto my boat and take her around the block, and piece of cake. With the tow mode ON, i can actually speed up , with the boat on there, and i hardly know its back there. Now mind you, my boat,motor and trailer weigh about 2,000 lbs total, plus gear so i'll say 2,500 lbs. Now, heres my question, should i have an external tranny cooler installed as i don't believe my truck has one, unless its built into the radiator like my Jeep was. I don't haul the boat across state or anything, maybe occasionally 1 way may be 70 miles or so. I know its cheap insurance, but does the truck need 1, or should i ask, could i hurt the tranny in any way, providing i keep an eye on the temp gauge. I had one installed on my Dodge Ram, but that was mainly because of the Dodge Rams track record on their trannys, does Chevrolet have any track record of bad trannys? The gears in my truck are 3.73, and i only tow in drive, not over drive, unless i'm going down the highway, then i'll go into OD, but any least bit of incline, i shift it back to drive. Whats everyones idea, cooler or not? Thanx, Jim

 

i would say so just to be safe. I have had problems with the 4L60E before, it went totally out! this was after pulling a 50' Chevy with half-locked up rear end 60 miles or so, and then burnin em' in the ice for a couple of days, but yea i would say go for one anyway. Cheap insurance if you ask me.

 

Yup. Let's face it, the engine is going to run for quite a while, provided you stick to a maintenence routine... Might as well help out the transmission a little too, and you'll be on the way to seeing a few hundred thousand miles.

 

i would say a tranny cooler is a must have for any towing. now if its just a drive around truck then it wouldnt be necessary. but im surprised your truck didnt come with one stock, i thought that was a stock feature since the 70s. but maybe not.

 

Hey stopspazinout, you're right. I stopped at my local Chevy dealer and they pointed out, that i DO HAVE an external tranny cooler, so i'm good to go. Its like 5" wide by maybe 15" long and about 1" thick and its right on the right hand edge of the radiator,(if your looking @ the front of the truck)running from top to bottom. Thanx everyone for your replys, Jim